Riot Grrrl
The 7 Best Riot Grrrl
Tracks of All Time
Olympia and Washington DC, 1991: hardcore's tools handed to women who were tired of being crushed at the front of the room, distributed through photocopied zines as much as through records.
- Origin
- Olympia, Washington, 1991
- Tempo
- 140–210 BPM
- Also known as
- riot girl, kill rock stars, olympia scene
- Tracks
- 7
- Updated
- 2026-08-31
Listen to the whole list
Play it through here →One record after another, with the verdicts
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Number 1: Bikini Kill / Rebel Girl
1993 · Kill Rock Stars
Kathleen Hanna singing about wanting to be a girl's best friend, at full volume, with Joan Jett producing. The movement's one unarguable anthem.
Number 2: Huggy Bear / Her Jazz
1993 · Wiiija
The British half, performed on Channel 4 before an argument broke out in the studio audience. Chaotic, and the record that made the scene a UK news story.
Number 3: Fugazi / Suggestion
1988 · Dischord
A man singing about street harassment from the woman's position, three years early, from the label that made the scene possible. Contested at the time, and worth arguing about still.
Number 4: Bratmobile / Cool Schmool
1993 · Kill Rock Stars
Two chords, a drummer barely holding it together, and total confidence. The deliberate amateurism is a position, not a limitation.
Number 5: Bikini Kill / Feels Blind
1991 · Kill Rock Stars
Slower and considerably angrier than Rebel Girl. Hanna's voice cracks and the recording keeps it, which was always the point.
Number 6: Heavens to Betsy / Tell Me
1994 · Kill Rock Stars
Corin Tucker before Sleater-Kinney, with a vibrato that sounds like it is about to break something. The purest voice the scene produced.
Number 7: Sleater-Kinney / Dig Me Out
1997 · Kill Rock Stars
What the scene became once the musicianship caught up with the position. Two guitars, no bass, and interlocking parts that owe more to Gang of Four than to punk.